England and Wales have been told to stop allowing its police to taser children after figures revealed that the use of the 50,000-volt stun guns on minors increased by 38 per cent in one year.

The United Nations plans to publicly shame the UK later this year at a hearing in Switzerland and will also tell the UK to ban police from stopping and searching toddlers.

Nearly 300 children aged under five were stopped and searched between 2009-2014, with two thirds of those incidents in London.

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The United Nations is planning to publicly shame England and Wales for allowing police to taser children after figures showed a sharp rise in the use of the 50,000-volt stun guns on minors

Police can only use stop and search powers if they suspect an individual is carrying a knife or involved in a terrorism crime.

The Independent on Sunday reports that officials from the UK Government will be hauled to Switzerland in May this year to account for its compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the UK signed up to in 1990.

In 2008 - the last time the Government was called on to account for its compliance with the convention - ministers were told to 'put an end to the use of all harmful devices on children'.

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Taser guns, which disable their targets by sending two darts of 50,000 volts that contracts the muscles and overwhelms the nervous system for five seconds, were introduced in the UK in 2003.

Among the 431 children who were targeted with a taser gun in 2013 was an 11-year-old.

The number represented a 38 per cent rise on the previous year.

Carla Garnelas, the co-director of the Children's Rights Alliance for England, called for an out-right ban on the use of tasers on children.

'The use of Taser on children is a breach of their human rights,' she told the Independent on Sunday.

'UN bodies have repeatedly called for the UK government to ban their use on children, highlighting the serious risk of physical and psychological harm they pose, yet the use of Taser on children continues. We want to see a ban on Taser use on children.'

It comes as Theresa May, the Home Secretary, considers a report by Chief Constable David Shaw of West Mercia Police into the credibility of data used to record taser usage in England and Wales amid concerns that many police forces do not record taser threats accurately enough.

But critics claim Mr Shaw has not consulted a wide-enough range of police forces and fear that the issue will not be resolved.

David Blunkett, who was home secretary when the weapons were first authorised, warned last year that police were rushing to use Tasers rather than trying to defuse angry confrontations

A spokesman for the Home Office insisted tasers provides the police with an 'important tactical option when facing potentially physically violent situations'.

'This government is committed to giving officers the necessary tools to do their job,' the spokesman added.

'All officers trained in the use of taser must consider the vulnerability of the individual, and factors such as age and stature form part of this assessment.'

Last year police authorities were campaigning for tasers to be handed to every one of the 127,000 frontline police officers in England and Wales.

David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary who first authorised their use, warned last year that police were rushing to use Tasers rather than trying to defuse angry confrontations and urged police to examine 'whether alternatives can be used'.

'I think it's time for a review that incorporates the use of Tasers with advice and support on how to deal with difficult situations,' he said.

'For a youngster, 11 years old, a Taser is not in my view an appropriate way of dealing with a situation – which clearly must have been out of hand, but where we need to train people to use more traditional alternatives.'

The figures on taser use show that an 11-year-old, a 12-year-old, four 13-year-olds and 33 14-year-olds were hit with the weapons in 2013.

One of the Taser shootings took place at a Devon school for children with learning difficulties in December 2013.

Police shot three pupils, all aged 14 or 15, at Chelfham Senior School in Bere Alston after being called to a ‘violent incident’.

Tasers disable their targets by sending two darts of 50,000 volts that contracts the muscles and overwhelms the nervous system for five seconds

The age group most likely to face being Tasered was 17-year-olds, with some 180 incidents recorded, followed by 16-year-olds with 132 incidents.

The statistics included situations in which Tasers were fired, used to ‘light up’ a target with a red sighting dot or merely removed from their holster.

Tasers were introduced in England and Wales in 2003 in a 12-month trial for firearms officers in five police forces.

Four years later police were told they could use them on under-18s, leading to 27 recorded cases in which they were employed.

In 2008 Tasers were rolled out across the country, and were no longer limited to specialist officers.

Supporters say the weapons offer a vital tool for police to defuse dangerous confrontations without the use of live ammunition.

But critics are concerned that Tasers are being drawn in everyday situations to bully and intimidate members of the public.

There are also fears that the weapons are being used inappropriately, for example on those already in custody, the mentally ill and the young and vulnerable.